# New Humi



## AAlmeter (Dec 31, 1999)

Had to go home this weekend to see the doctor so that gave me a chance to finish up the humidor I started building as "therapy" while laid up over Christmas after surgery. 

So far its been holding steady at 68%. Im probably going to buy a pound of climmax beads for it and also build another tray for singles when I have the time/money.


----------



## AAlmeter (Dec 31, 1999)

another view


----------



## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

good job with that. i've had dreams of building my own... but i know me, and it would probably end up with 1/4" gaps on each corner!!


----------



## okie2 (Mar 16, 2003)

Hi Adam,

Nice job! Looks like a stack of wood piled up in the top draw. Glad to hear it is working so good. The climmax beads should do the trick.

Hope all is going well with your recovery from surgery. How mobile are you? How much longer before you are back to "normal"? Take care.


----------



## robmcd (Apr 9, 2002)

nice job. looks like you enjoy smoking BIG cigars.


----------



## dayplanner (Dec 11, 1997)

Looks great, congratulations on a job well done.


----------



## hogg (Oct 13, 2003)

nice, thanks for the pics!


----------



## AAlmeter (Dec 31, 1999)

Thanks for the compliments guys

okie...i feel great now. doc says i can start playing lacrosse again, but I just have to take it really easy and feel it out. Should be 100% by the first week in Feb.


----------



## MADURO_MAS_DURO (Jan 1, 2000)

Hope all is well...I wish I was as crafty with the craftsmanship on that piece. Well Done.


----------



## drc (Dec 31, 1999)

Nice job. I agree with MMD, wish I had those craftsman skills. Time to order more and more boxes.


----------



## Treyjo43 (Jun 1, 2003)

That is Beautiful Adam. Like everyone else said, I could only wish to have the skills required to build something as magnificent as that. How long did it take you and what types of wood did you use?


----------



## AAlmeter (Dec 31, 1999)

Thanks guys.

The box itself is 3/4" maple and 15/16" black walnut. That is where most of the time was spent. Since I dont have a planer to take the walnut down to 3/4", I had to redesign it around the joints (where its filled with the quarter round i made)....otherwise the difference would have been very noticable. The lining and shelf is spanish cedar, of course. That stuff is nasty to work with. As good as it smells, inhaling the dust sucks. 

All in all, Id say maybe 15-20 hours of actual work. If I had a planer and jointer the time (and mistakes) would have been cut down a lot. If I had been smart and used simpler joints for the tools I have, that would have cut the time down a lot too.

Im probably going to be building more this summer. I really enjoyed it, so Im hoping to sell some on ebay or on our auction site and see if I can raise some more money for new power tools/boxes to fill it up. I still have a little more to go on it. I didnt have a chance to finish the stand I made for it and I need to rebuff it and get out some of the dried wax that you can see in the 2nd picture (I was in a rush and was hungover from my 21st:al )


----------



## poker (Dec 11, 1997)

Very Nice!!!!


----------



## Mic (Jan 14, 2004)

Nice job, and looks like a very nice collection of smokes !!


----------



## AAlmeter (Dec 31, 1999)

Thanks...a good portion of my collection was donated to the "save a smokeless college student fund" from a couple of very generous gorillas on here.  

...well that and my recent slide down the slippery slope...Ive been trying to save myself from the fall, but it looks like Im being sucked into a group purchase of some RyJ 2001 LE robs with some guys from my smoke shop back home. This could get ugly.


----------



## Lamar (Dec 12, 1997)

Sounds like a new business is beginning! Good work my friend.


----------



## MADURO_MAS_DURO (Jan 1, 2000)

Place me on the waiting list !


----------



## AAlmeter (Dec 31, 1999)

I don't think Arlin Liss has to worry just yet...but I hope to keep making humidors this summer when Im home. Im looking to do some nice inlay work and maybe an even bigger humidor for myself. Hopefully I can get it to pay for my cigar habit.


----------



## puros_va (Jan 21, 2004)

Great job! I am currentyl in the process of designing something similar. I have never tried building something like this, so my skills are somewhat lacking. What basic tools would you need to make something like this? I have mitre saw, table saw, router, clamps, etc. I can't wait to start as I want to begin storing boxes of stogies to age. Thanks for any tips.


----------



## AAlmeter (Dec 31, 1999)

You have everything you need (Im assuming you have basic hand tools). If you have the cash to blow, get yourself a planer and jointer too. The planer (not power hand planer, but a real benchtop planer) will bring down your stock to uniform thickness and will also give you a much better finish than typical stuff coming out of the mill (unless you buy pre milled, which is more expensive). The jointer will give you perfect edges, which you will need if you are going to do any edge glueing (most likely you will if you are doing a larger humi...edge glueing is how i attached the maple and black walnut). You can do it with a table saw like i did, but it takes some extra work and patience to get it perfect so there are no tiny gaps. you will also need to figure out what type of joinery to use. I used rabbeted joints, which you can do on a tablesaw or on a router. if you go with dovetail or box joints, i would recommend getting a jig to use with your router. I built a jewlery box last year using box joints i did on the table saw...turned out pretty good. dovetails you will need a jig for however, unless you are doing them by hand...but thats a ways off, for me atleast. 

beer is also very handy. it relieves pain and frustration quite well and, when empty, can be used as your shop ashtray.

one more thing...get yourself a cabinet scraper (and learn how to use it). they are only a couple of bucks. you use it instead of sanding and you get a super smooth surface without any of the blurring of the grain caused by sandpaper ripping into the wood. 

feel free to post, pm, email, whatever if you have any questions. good luck


----------



## puros_va (Jan 21, 2004)

Thanks! Didn't mean to get off of the subject of stogies. I'm just looking forward to building something that I can store my stogies in that I built with my own hands. Anyways, my current humi sucks and I am currently storing my smokes in a humidor bag. A big humidor bag!


----------



## hogg (Oct 13, 2003)

Thanks AA. I'm fascinated with this part of my hobby now and am heading into that direction (which really means only that I've daydreamed a lot). Good info about the scraper and the joiner.


----------



## OnePyroTec (Dec 11, 1997)

very nice bro. :fu I've been talking about making another one for so long......


----------



## AAlmeter (Dec 31, 1999)

You got it guys. Its really not all that difficult to do these projects, especially if you do a smaller 50ct humi to start off with. Tons of plans for these (jewlery boxes). Worst case scenario is you end up with the best firewood on the block. Whether your first project is a success or not, you will learn a lot and hopefully have a good time.


----------



## MattK (Jan 2, 2004)

*Just finshed as well*

I started off trying to make something to hold about 300-500 sticks. Well, I think "MegaDor" turned out pretty well. 
So I started working on a little bit bigger version "BabiHumi" Guessing ~5000-8000 sticks :w She's almost done.

"MegaDor"
More Pics of MegaDor

"BabiHumi" 
More Pics of BabiHumi


----------



## AAlmeter (Dec 31, 1999)

WOW!!! Nice work. I really like BabyHumi. I cant tell if its oak or maple....the top grain looks like oak, but a maple color. anyways, that leads to my question....did you do the molding yourself? I cant find any molding around me besides pine and oak, and my router could never handle anything like that. Im lucky I got it to chew up the 1/2" quarter round I made (its a 30 year old craftsman). Someday Ill have a nice router and shaper......


----------



## MattK (Jan 2, 2004)

> did you do the molding yourself?


Yeah, lots of passes. I have a lot of hardwood stores around that sell moding just like that, but a router/shaper bit was a lot cheaper than preshaped molding.

Ooops, Yeah its a All Oak on the outside.


----------



## AAlmeter (Dec 31, 1999)

very nice...now youve got the wheels turning in my head. time to make myself another new humidor....and i thought collecting cigars was expensive


----------



## motortown (Jan 14, 2004)

I love reading some of these threads. The pictures are great, too. I really gotta do something like that before I get married. Whether I chop off a finger or thumb remains to be seen. A good friend is a custom woodworker by trade, so I have that avenue as well. Awesome stuff, guys. Keep it coming.


----------



## puros_va (Jan 21, 2004)

Great job on BabiHumi! What are the dimensions of that beast? Also, what is the humidifier that you are using. Looks like a cigar oasis from the pics. These are giving me great ideas for my project. I hope to start soon, maybe small humidor first to get used to wood working. Great job guys!


----------



## MattK (Jan 2, 2004)

BabiHumi is about 26" wide, 26" deep, and about 60" tall. It sports an all oak exterior, and 3/4" thick cedar lined inside walls. The drawers are made of 1/2" mahagony, suppored by 21" long full extensions drawer slides. The back of the drawer is outside of the humidor for easy loading when fully extended. The bottom two shelves also pull out for easy access of up to 60 boxes. I use a Cigar Oasis and several fans for humidity control. Heating/cooling is maintained by a homemade temperature controller and a thermoelectric heat pump. 

It took me about two months to complete. Fortunately I still have all of my own fingers.


----------



## MADURO_MAS_DURO (Jan 1, 2000)

You two are very talented. I WISH I was as crafty as you both. If I was you'd be hearing the following:

In my best Captain Kirk impression

Don't...give...me...ideas...I'll...try...to...turn...the...garage...into...a...walk...in...humi!


----------



## motortown (Jan 14, 2004)

I humbly bow to you all.


----------



## MattK (Jan 2, 2004)

Huhhmmmm, What will happen after BabiHumi is full? A walk in basement......


----------



## AAlmeter (Dec 31, 1999)

of course! 

Matt, any online plans for the homemade temp controller/heat pump? Im also looking for any shcematics for something similar to the cigar oasis. Ive done some things like this in the past (air/fuel ratio meter, assorted BS like that), but I have forgotten so much....far too lazy to relearn everything and then design a system from scratch.

I seem to remember someone building their own active system with a PC fan hooked up to a timer. Any help much appreciated.


----------



## MattK (Jan 2, 2004)

.


> Matt, any online plans for the homemade temp controller/heat pump?


Sure, that shouldn't be too hard. I build control systems, test instruments, and software for a living. I'll gather some of my notes and see what I can do. If any one needs any help just pm me


----------



## AAlmeter (Dec 31, 1999)

very cool...thanks man


----------



## MattK (Jan 2, 2004)

Adam,

Do you need a temperature controller for your humidor? I have a fairly cheap solution for that. I use Peltier Coolers and a cheap temperature controller. Can be setup to hold about 1ºC

About $200 to $300 parts.

Temp Controller & Peltier Cooler


----------



## MattK (Jan 2, 2004)

AAlmeter 

What did you user to seal the door to the cabinet? I have used some foam weatherstip on BabiHumi. Megador seals soo tight, that its just wood on wood.


----------



## AAlmeter (Dec 31, 1999)

wood on wood like you (doesnt sound very good does it?). I rabbeted the door so half fits inside the case and the other half covers the case's endgrain when closed. Then the top of the door is sovered with the quarterround I made (top has quarter round around it to cover the rabbet joints I used for the case joinery). 

When I rabbeted it, I left a little extra on and then finished it by hand with my rabbet plane. The cedar lining also overlaps to give an even better seal.


----------



## AAlmeter (Dec 31, 1999)

Busted out the fingerpainting set and drew this cross section...hopefully this can explain a little better...


----------

